


Enemies in Arms

by FossilizedCake



Category: Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Genre: Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Crimes & Criminals, Enemies, F/M, Fluff and Crack, Gen, Humor, Law Enforcement, Methredhel as the Gray Fox, One-Sided Attraction, Or Is It?, Secret Identity, Team Up, Thieves Guild, Unrequited Crush, kind of, to friends?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-09-24 04:11:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20352178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FossilizedCake/pseuds/FossilizedCake
Summary: Guard Captain Hieronymus Lex gets unexpected help arresting a criminal. From his arch-enemy. He's rather annoyed. Oneshot.(written in 2015 and originally posted on ff.net, revised)





	Enemies in Arms

**Author's Note:**

> Got this idea while writing an RPG fanfic with my brother. He's crazy, I tell you.

It all happened in a flash. An agile man, clad in a dark red robe with a hood that was pulled over his face far enough to completely cast it in shadows, had hopped down from a building to slice some poor (or rather, _rich_) soul's throat.

Hieronymus Lex, the Captain of the Guard, had only witnessed the crime by chance as he was headed for his quarters after a long, frustrating day at his enemies' territory, the waterfront. He had just entered the Temple District when he heard a dull thud and a gurgling scream. Ever on duty, he immediately raced towards the sound, rounding a corner to watch a wealthily-dressed man drop to the ground, revealing the culprit behind him, his gaze meeting the captain's.

But Lex wasn't intimidated. He never was. On the contrary, he was usually the one intimidating others.

"You there! You're under arrest for murder!" his voice boomed while he pointed accusingly at the criminal.

The other man let out a sinister snicker and lifted one leg to step over the dead body in front of him, taking measured strides in Lex' direction who, in response, drew his sword.

"That's right, scum, running away is pointless."

He was aware that this wasn't surrender. His kind was too unreasonable to make wise decisions. But it didn't matter because he'd end up in prison either way.

The dark figure came to a halt a few meters away from him. He guided his hands towards his shoulders and reached behind them. Lex steeled himself for an upcoming fight but instead of daggers or swords or any other weapon for a one-on-one duel, he grabbed two throwing knives. In the shadows of his hood, Lex could detect a sneer on his lips.

The man hurled his hands forward, sending the two sharp blades flying in his direction with lightning speed. Lex noticed that they were aiming for his face, the only part of his body that wasn't protected by armor, and only had time to hold up his sword in front of him in a feeble attempt to stop the inevitable collision while he inadvertently closed his eyes.

But the knives never found their target. Instead, two thuds and a loud clank sounded on the stones in front of him.

When he pried his eyes open a few moments later, they fell upon his attacker who was still holding his arms outstretched in front of him, frozen in the movement.

Then his gaze wandered down to the street. There lay a shield of the Imperial Legion, two knives deeply embedded in its metal surface. He frowned. What in Oblivion...?

His head shot upwards, following the movements of yet another figure that landed right in front of him, causing him to take a startled step backwards.

The stranger's back was facing him and he wore some kind of hood, too. _Not another one of those pseudo-cryptic madmen who think that a hood makes them look like some sort of awesome, mysterious warrior._

"That's going too far!" a disgruntled female voice sliced through the tense silence and Lex realized that it belonged to the newcomer.

Slowly, she turned her head around to face him. Lex could see her grin as she giggled, but other than that every part of her face was hidden behind a cowl. A cowl he knew all too well. And he hated it with a passion.

"Gray Fox," he breathed, his radiant blue eyes wide in surprise.

"Why, yes, my dear captain. You're welcome for the rescue," she said cheerfully before returning her attention to the man across from them who was currently darting in their direction, a shortsword in his hand.

With one calculated movement, the Gray Fox reached behind her to shove Lex to the side and ducked the other man's attack, his blade slicing the air that her throat had occupied just a moment prior, and threw her weight against his legs, sending him flying face-first to the cobbled road. The impact caused him to let loose of his sword and he quickly rolled to the side when Lex made use of his claymore and placed a forceful strike on the floor, missing his target by mere centimeters.

"Too slow. As always," the Gray Fox commented teasingly and followed the hooded man as he bobbed up and began climbing a nearby building. Realizing that Lex was starting to follow them underfoot she added, "Hieronymus, you stay here, that's a direct order!"

Like hell it was.

"I command you both to get down here immediately!" Lex shouted imperiously, glaring after them.

The hooded man leaped from one building to the next, the Gray Fox hot on his heels.

"I'm sorry but I don't think either of us will obey your orders anytime soon, Lexy," she replied apologetically.

"Stop with the games, Gray Fox!" Lex said angrily, barely registering the nickname, while he watched her chase the criminal over the city's rooftops and walls, taking up pursuit himself.

"I like games, captain."

The Gray Fox' behavior irritated him greatly. What was she trying to achieve with this ridiculous, insolent behavior? And much more importantly, why had _she_, his arch-enemy, saved _him_?

Why was she even female, for the Nine's sake?

Oh well, it was another useful detail he could add to his wanted posters.

He could barely see them on top of the buildings and thought he had lost them several times but the Fox' giggle always indicated their current location, as if she was doing it on purpose to make sure he watched them. And even worse, she seemed to take neither the murderer nor him seriously.

Outrageous!

This woman was a pest!

Soon, panting accompanied the giggling way above the city's streets. And since no one could giggle like _that_ while being out of breath, the sound must have come from the murderer, much to Lex' satisfaction, although he himself was starting to become exhausted due to running around in his heavy armor for an extended amount of time.

He stopped and bent over, placing his hands on his knees in order to catch his breath.

When the sound of his own breathing ceased, he heard nothing but the silence of the night.

Until, a few moments later, something crashed to the floor right behind him and he spun around.

There, now in front of him, lay the murderer, squirming, his hands and feet bound painfully together on his back and a gag in his mouth.

"I normally don't treat fellow criminals like this," a female voice sounded from atop the building before him and he angled his head to look at its source, his claymore clutched tightly in his hands. "But he endangered you, _your eyes_, so he deserves extra harsh punishment. Don't let him escape, sir, although I believe at this point you're capable of handling the situation yourself." She giggled and a shuffle signalized her departure.

"Stay put, Fox!" Lex ordered but her laughter was already starting to consecutively echo from all around him before fading into nothingness. He cursed under his breath for failing to arrest his arch-enemy yet again. But, for some reason, he wasn't as downcast by that fact as he usually was.

Had she really just teamed up with him? If so, _what _by everything that's sacred had driven her into making that decision? No matter how much he thought about it, there was no reasonable explanation.

Lex' gaze fell down on the man at his feet who was still struggling to get free, without success in sight.

The Gray Fox would make a decent guard, the captain mused before mentally slapping himself. Even if she was skilled, she was the enemy and her crimes held no room for redemption.

The clanking of metal boots against stone drew his attention. With a stern expression on his face, he turned around meaningfully slow to see a guard approach him. His glance shifted to the writhing figure on the floor as he came to a halt.

"Captain, I heard shouting, is this the culprit that caused trouble?" he asked, gesturing towards the hooded man.

Lex narrowed his eyes at him. Couldn't he have shown up a _minute_ earlier? He could have helped catch the Gray Fox! Or even just _seen_ her to prove her existence. But no, Lex once again remained the only one who knew the truth and nobody would accord any more credibility to his words than they did so far. Which was none at all.

Ignorant fools.

The other guard whistled lowly. "Nice work, sir."

Lex nodded in acceptance and motioned for the guard to take the man away, while he heard a female voice in the back of his mind giggle at him for taking the credit. But hey, if the Gray Fox didn't exist, who could he convince that it was _her_ that had bested his foe? For once, he had no choice but to put their denial to good use. And besides, it wasn't like she had done _all_ the work.

* * *

"Had fun tonight?" Methredhel asked cheerfully, approaching the Captain of the Guard with a bounce in her step. Lex turned around to eye her with an indifferent glance.

"I don't recall why I should have, citizen," he replied blankly.

She smiled up at him affectionately before her expression turned earnest. "I'm glad you're okay."

He raised an inquiring eyebrow. How did she know? And, why did she care? It wasn't like they had much of a relationship anyway; she occasionally decided to annoy him but that was about it. Although, there was this weird, intense stare she would direct at him with increasing frequency as of late.

"You should be more careful, though. You're not untouchable, you know, even if you act like it."

He just blinked at her with raised eyebrows and tilted his head, wondering why she would say something like that.

The elf suddenly burst into a dazzling smile. And here we go again with _the stare_. "Watch those eyes, Lexy," she said, nodding towards his face and turning to leave, her eyes lingering on his just a moment longer.

The nickname stirred something inside of him but he couldn't quite place it.

Although, something told him that it was probably better that way.

**Fin**


End file.
